The appointment that delighted Bahçeli: It has created a historic turning point.

05.05.2026 17:55

MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, referring to the appointment of Iraqi Turkmen Front President Muhammed Seman Aga as the Governor of Kirkuk in the party group, stated, 'The election and inauguration of my honorable brother, Iraqi Turkmen Front President Muhammed Seman Aga, as governor has somewhat alleviated historical pains and constituted a historic turning point in terms of making the Turkmen will visible again in Kirkuk.'

An important development took place in Iraq's Kirkuk city. Muhammed Seman Aga, head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, officially assumed his duties on April 20, 2026, following his appointment as the governor of Kirkuk. Thus, after 102 years, Kirkuk is once again governed by a Turkish governor.

NOTEWORTHY ASSESSMENT FROM BAHÇELİ

MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli made assessments on the matter during the party's group meeting. Stating that the development carries historical significance, Bahçeli said, "Today's developments in Kirkuk are extraordinarily meaningful in this regard. The election and inauguration of my esteemed brother Muhammed Seman Aga, head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, as governor has somewhat soothed historical pains and constitutes a historic turning point in terms of making the Turkmen will visible again in Kirkuk. This development has once again declared that the Turkmen presence in Kirkuk cannot be postponed, ignored, or erased. The emphasis on fraternity rising in the city is a harbinger of a balance that does not ignore the Turkmen, does not exclude the Arab, does not marginalize the Kurd, does not erase the Assyrian, carries everyone's rights, but also acknowledges the Turkmen presence as a fundamental and foundational reality."

Highlights from Bahçeli's statements:

Esteemed members of parliament, ladies and gentlemen, valuable representatives of the press, at the very beginning of my words, I greet you all with my deepest feelings of brotherhood, respect, affection, and longing. I pray to Almighty Allah that you have a week full of blessings, abundance, health, fortitude, and peace. I extend my best wishes to our dear citizens who follow today's meeting via television screens, radio channels, and social media platforms from within and outside the country, and to all our brothers and sisters struggling for an honorable life, a noble march, and a patient existence in our heartlands and cultural geographies. I express my happiness to be under the same roof once again with you, my esteemed comrades-in-arms, on the occasion of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey group meeting, and I greet each of you wholeheartedly.

"THE POLITICAL FAULT LINE IS HARDENING FURTHER"

The world is going through a difficult trial. Cracks are becoming evident in the pillars of the global system, the geopolitical ground is shifting, economic tensions and political fault lines are hardening further. States are being tested for will, nations for fortitude, and societies for patience. Even if maps remain in place, meanings are shifting. Even if borders appear fixed, the nature of threats is changing.

In times like these, the meaning of being a nation deepens even more. In times like these, holding onto each other more tightly becomes a historical necessity. In times like these, any language that magnifies division, any attitude that increases laxity, any intervention that erodes memory emerges as a trap set for the future. That is why we cannot speak only of the present these days. We must also speak of the past. We must also speak of the future. We cannot merely list events. We are obliged to explain within which state rationale those events gain meaning, in which national conscience they take root, and of which historical march they are a part.

"THE TURKISH NATION IS A GREAT HISTORICAL SUBJECT"

Life in these blessed lands has always been kneaded within a shared destiny. In this homeland, joy has never been experienced alone, sorrow has never been confined to an isolated emotion. Folk songs have been sung together, laments have been voiced together, victories have been celebrated together, and defeats have been borne together. In this regard, the reality we call the nation has shown its depth sometimes in an anthem, sometimes on a tombstone, and sometimes in the meal on the table. Because the Turkish nation is a great historical subject that transforms its past into a source of power guiding the future.

The May 3 Nationalists Day, which we will observe in the coming days, holds a distinguished position in the history of Turkish nationalism's existence, an exceptional milestone in its struggle memory, and an unquenchable torch in hearts. How deep the sense of belonging to the Turkish nation is, how alive minds enlightened by the ideal are, how resilient hearts that risk death for the cause are, has been clearly seen in the ordeal, the will, and the bravery of May 3. Those who stood up that day did not merely raise an objection. They also inscribed in history the spirit, ethics, and loyalty upon which Turkish nationalism is based. The statement that the people of Turkey who founded the Republic of Turkey are called the Turkish nation is one of the most dignified definitions put forward by Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's conception of the nation. A nation should not be understood merely as the sum of people living within the same borders. A nation is a human and political composition that has shouldered the same destiny, turned standing side by side in the same homeland into a will before history, become accustomed to each other's pain over time, shared in each other's joy, and nourished its memory with shared recollections.

"BEING A NATION IS A PLEDGE TO WALK TOGETHER"

A nation is a great partnership of destiny: looking at the same sky, laboring on the same land, finding dignity under the same flag, walking shoulder to shoulder at funerals, rising with the same joy at weddings, and turning toward each other in sorrow and pride. A nation is the name of a community that feels that invisible line of affection expressed in the words of the late Neşet Ertaş, "There is a path from heart to heart," as his soul trembles with the string of a saz, and turns the bond established from heart to heart into a cultural bridge, a line of conscience, and a ground of loyalty. A nation is a great synthesis that can make room for each other, multiply, and coalesce with the feeling of friendship, sharing, and affection echoed in the late Barış Manço's call, "Come in, friends, come in." Because the reality we call the nation is not only fortified by pain, but also matures through the ethics of sharing joy. A nation is kneaded with mourning and completed with cheer. It takes root with memory and rises with an ideal. Being a nation is, beyond the desire to live together, a pledge to walk together. Above walking together lies the power to make history together. That is precisely where the essential spirit that makes May 3 meaningful, exceptional, and historic lies. May 3 is the blood-washed stones of a blessed path where an idealized will and a cause-imbued ethics become visible in history.

"MAY 3 IS THE CHARACTER LEAVEN OF TURKISH NATIONALISM"

May 3 holds a meaning beyond being an honorable memory of Turkish nationalism. May 3 is the primary symbol of what fires the will that carried the Nationalist Movement Party to today was tested by, what chains it was encircled with, and what plots sought to sever it from its path. May 3 is the transformation of national consciousness into an uncompromising will. May 3 is the manifestation of Turkish nationalism not merely as an intellectual current, but as an ethic, a character, and a discipline of struggle.

The oppression that the Kirkuk Turkmen have long been subjected to is a heartbreaking trial etched into the conscience of the Turkish nation. Many a Turkmen hearth has been extinguished, many a family has been forced from its homeland, many a mother has shed tears, many a child has trembled with fear, and many a brave soul has been tested with pressure and deprivation. There have been those who attempted to silence Turkey's voice in the Turkmen region, blur its historical existence, weaken its national identity, and sever this ancient Turkish homeland from its essence through political games and demographic schemes. It must be known that, though the ordeal of Kirkuk is great, the character of the Turkmen is greater. Pressure has increased, but faith has not bent. Storms have raged, but the sky-blue flag has not been lowered from the skies. Patience has been tested, but memory has not been broken. Means have been narrowed, but order has not been lost.

"A TURKMEN GOVERNOR FOR KIRKUK: A TURNING POINT"

Today's developments in Kirkuk are extraordinarily meaningful in this regard. The election and inauguration of my esteemed brother Muhammed Seman Ağa, President of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, as governor has provided some balm to historical wounds and constitutes a historic turning point in making the Turkmen will visible again in Kirkuk. This development has reaffirmed that the Turkmen presence in Kirkuk cannot be postponed, ignored, or erased. The emphasis on brotherhood rising in the city heralds a balance that neither disregards the Turkmen, excludes the Arab, marginalizes the Kurd, erases the Assyrian, and carries the rights of all, yet acknowledges the Turkmen presence as a fundamental and founding reality.

Just as the blessed goal of the Century of Türkiye is a Türkiye free from terror, where peace prevails, our desire in our heartlands is in the same direction. As Türkiye is freed from the scourge of terror, the new order established in Kirkuk will provide relief to the region. Our desire is a Türkiye cleansed of discord, domination, and terror, and a regional climate where peace and brotherhood take root. Whatever we said years ago, we stand in the same place today. We said that even if no person, institution, or organization sincerely supports the existential struggle of the Iraqi Turkmen, the nationalist idealist movement will fulfill the requirements of its historical responsibility and national mission and stand by them. We also said sincerely that at least 5,000 idealist volunteers stand ready to join the struggle for existence, unity, and peace in Turkish cities where Turkmen live, primarily Kirkuk. These were not words aimed at saving the day. They were not wordplay. They were decidedly not hollow phrases wrapped in the cloak of rhetoric. When it comes to Kirkuk, it was the voice, loyalty, and mobilization expression of idealist hearts ready to rush to the ranks for duty. When it comes to Turkmeneli, it is an oath of honor showing that the nationalist idealist movement's stance on the Kirkuk issue will not weaken, cannot be weakened, and will not retreat. We see with gratitude that a patiently woven process and a calmly preserved cause are now bearing fruit.

"KIRKUK WILL NO LONGER BE A SUBJECT OF BARGAINING TABLES"

Undoubtedly, crossroads in history have never appeared before us all at once. No victory has been born by chance. No historical transformation has come about by the flapping of fortune's wings. Dawn has broken not after one, but after a thousand dark nights. God willing, those flags will one day wave in Kirkuk as well. We have seen the path to the acceptance of our prayer. We have heard the joyous cries of our Turkmen brothers. Praise be, we have witnessed a historic moment. If the words spoken yesterday in Ankara echo today in Kirkuk, if the prayers made yesterday in Ankara are answered today in Kirkuk, if the loyalty shown yesterday transforms today into representational power, it is due to the greatness of the cause of Turkish nationalism. Just as our march did not begin with haphazard steps, it is not continuing with fleeting excitements. Our march is a long, blessed marathon, sharpened with consciousness and honed with perseverance. We have once again shown the entire world that Kirkuk is a legacy to us, our Turkmen kinsmen are a trust not to be left unattended, and the Turkish nation is a deeply sorrowful nation. Kirkuk will no longer be a subject of bargaining tables. Our kinsmen, with their lives, property, language, and prayers, will not be torn from their homeland. Our peace will not be turned into material for any dark scheme or treacherous negotiation. The voice of Turkish will not be silenced, and the light of no Turkmen hearth will be extinguished.

"WE FORGET NEITHER KIRKUK NOR MOSUL"

The tide has turned; the century is the Turkish century, the century of Türkiye. Kirkuk will live, Turkmeneli will rise, and with God's permission, will live forever. We forget neither Kirkuk nor will we remove Mosul from our minds, nor will we leave our kinsmen unattended. We stand with all our brothers who are the names of loyalty, from Kirkuk to East Turkestan, from Karabakh to Cyprus. We do not stray from our line. We do not deviate from our path, nor lose sight of our goal. Because the Nationalist Movement does not change color with time, does not change form with position, does not change direction with the wind, and does not change its word for benefit."